Beep…Beep…Beep. It’s 5am on Saturday morning. I jump out of bed filled with excitement, its GAME DAY! Time for tailgating, hanging out with fellow crazed fans and of course the NCAA football game! Everyone has their own allegiances and own rituals surrounding game day. Many of us even have superstitions when it comes to our favorite team.  (I still believe if I don’t wear a certain necklace my team will lose, although they lose when I’m wearing it still!)

Tailgating is one of my favorite game day rituals. I love getting up early and staking claim to the piece of lawn or cement that will be mine for the next several hours.  Some tailgates are super high tech with huge TV’s and several appliances. I think top notch tailgates begin with an Iowa Hawkeyes tailgate tent.  Add in a few accessories and you’re golden. Here are a few of my favorites: an Iowa Hawkeyes BBQ Set, a Hawkeyes Tailgate Table, and an officially licensed NCAA football Ladder Golf Set. I’m thinking of adding the ultimate accessory to my tailgate this year: an 11″ x 14″ x 17″ Portable Party Fridge which has a 24-can capacity and plugs into a car outlet or works at home!

The best part about NCAA football is win or lose, we’ll all be out there next week cheering them on the whole day of the game while we tailgate!

Here we are, just 5 weeks away from the start of the college football season.  The first games of the season will be Thursday August 30th, but most teams kick off their season on Saturday September 1st.  For a football junkie like myself, I’m envisioning a Labor Day weekend filled with good football and plenty of cheers as my team takes the field for the first time since last year’s bowl game. 

While I will admit that I’m no fan of the BCS, I do like the fact that “every game counts.”  In college football, there is no preseason.  Teams get a few weeks to practice, but when they put on the pads Labor Day weekend, there is little margin for error.  One loss could mean the end to a national championship dream.  With that in mind, there are a couple of opening weekend matchups that really intrigue me:  On Friday August 31st, ESPN is treating us to Boise State vs. Michigan State.  Boise State gets a chance to prove they belong with the big boys as they once again open their season with the toughest game on their schedule. 

On Saturday September 1st, most everyone else starts their season.  Top games include Notre Dame vs. Navy in the Emerald Isle Classic (played in Dublin), Clemson vs. Auburn (played in the Georgia Dome) and Michigan vs. Alabama (played at Cowboys stadium).  Not a bad way to kick off the season if you ask me…

Breaking news in the college football world. . . beginning in 2014, the NCAA football playoff landscape will feature four teams battling it out in a single elimination bracket-style competition, with the semi-final winners earning spots in the coveted College Football National Championship game. Playoff games will rotate among six sites with the championship game played at location based on a bid selection.

Current BCS games include the Rose Bowl (Pasadena, CA), Fiesta Bowl (Glendale, AZ), Sugar Bowl (New Orleans) and Orange Bowl (Miami, FL) and it’s apparent those sites will continue to be in the mix. Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, home of the Cotton Bowl, is widely rumored to be a front-runner to land one of the other two spots. Expect the sixth to go to a warmer-weather city like Jacksonville or Atlanta.

In the new model, playoff teams will be chosen by a selection committee weighing parameters like schedule strength, win-loss record and head-to-head matchups following the regular season. Conference champions get preferential treatment. While the committee makeup has yet to be determined, it will likely include college athletic directors and 20 conference commissioners.

Right now, the BCS selection process relies on an ambiguous mix of polls and programs to calculate rankings and determine the matchup for the BCS National Championship Game. Many think this methodology is intrinsically flawed because undefeated teams have finished their season without a National Championship game invite. Over the past 6 seasons, there have been more undefeated non-BCS championship teams than teams that went undefeated and won a BCS champions title.

And, while the shakeup seems promising for often overlooked teams, it bodes well for the NCAA too. Preliminary reports estimate the new playoff system will garner television rights upwards of 500 million and with the championship game becoming college football’s super bowl, you can bet that some dome-cities like Indy and Detroit will be wrangling for a chance to host college football’s biggest game and this translates into big bucks for the NCAA.

Back to School and college football season are right around the corner, making now a great time to find officially licensed college apparel. At FansEdge.com, we have an assortment of NCAA Sideline Gear, jerseys and NCAA snapback hats so you can rally your cheers in style. From popular teams like Alabama, Notre Dame, Kentucky, LSU, Ohio State and more, we have a massive selection of officially licensed college apparel. Shop now and stop back often because new styles are arriving daily.

To say this has been a disappointing bowl season for the Big Ten would be a gross understatement. After starting the bowl season with surprise wins from Iowa and Illinois, the Big Ten entered New Year’s Day with five more chances to improve on those two wins. Unfortunately, all five teams lost on New Year’s Day.

It started with Northwestern vs. Texas Tech in the early game. After spotting Texas Tech a big first half lead, the Wildcats struggled to catch up, ultimately losing 45-38 to the Red Raiders. That was the first loss of the day for the Big Ten, and the first bowl loss of the season. The situation would not get any better.

Penn St couldn’t hold off Urban Meyer’s Florida Gators, blowing a 24-17 third quarter lead, and losing by a final score of 37-24. A “pick six” sealed the game for the Gators late in the fourth quarter.

The two Michigan schools failed to represent the Big Ten very well at all. Amazingly, they lost by a combined 101-21! Michigan State laid an egg against Alabama, with a tough Crimson Tide team that jumped on the Spartans from the opening kickoff and didn’t let up. Michigan played as if they would like to see Rich Rodriguez fired, getting crushed by the #24 Mississippi State Bulldogs.

The final Big Ten team to play on New Year’s Day was the Wisconsin Badgers. Arguably the hottest team in the nation coming into the bowl game, Wisconsin was matched up in the Rose Bowl against an undefeated TCU team that earned an at large BCS birth. TCU played for “all the small schools” across the nation, and went toe to toe against the Badgers. When Wisconsin missed a game-tying 2 point conversion late in the game, TCU just had to run out the clock to hang on for a win. David beat Goliath to put the Big Ten out of their New Year’s Day misery.

Ohio State has yet to play their bowl game, but even with a win, the Big Ten would end the bowl season at a disappointing 3-5. Next year they add Nebraska (who also lost their bowl game), a Big Ten conference championship game, and hope for a respectable bowl showing.